Cutting-Edge Conversations

Experts in artificial intelligence, nanoengineering deliver Drosdick Hall’s first endowed lectures

The grand Dionisio Family Lecture Hall in Drosdick Hall played host to two significant lectures this academic year, featuring world-class experts sharing their knowledge and experience in industry and research.

In October, the Villanova Engineering community welcomed Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE (above) for the 2024 Patrick J. Cunningham Jr. and Susan Ward ’80 Endowed Lecture in Engineering. Dr. Talla, vice president and general manager of Robotics and Edge Computing at NVIDIA, spoke on “Humanity’s New Allies: The Future of Robotics and Physical AI.”

Dr. Talla’s presentation highlighted how robotics in collaboration with artificial intelligence can lead to a future where efficiency and creativity go hand in hand, ultimately transforming the way we live and work.

“You are essentially creating a human being to perform a particular task,” Dr. Talla said in the talk. “They must be educated and guided, much like a carpenter undergoes training.”

He encouraged the audience to embrace these technologies, not as replacements for human effort but as tools that can enhance our capabilities. With careful integration and ethical considerations, he said, the partnership between humans and machines holds the promise of a brighter, more effective future.

The 2025 Claire L. and Gerard F. Jones ’72 Distinguished Lecture, held in March, featured Pulickel M. Ajayan, PhD (below), founding chair of the Department of Materials Science and NanoEngineering at Rice University. In his lecture, “The Evolution of Nano-Engineered Materials,” Dr. Ajayan addressed key opportunities and challenges in the field of nanomaterials.

He noted that carbon, specifically, is at the heart of the field’s research because of its versatility. Carbon’s unique properties, such as its ability to form various materials like graphene and carbon nanotubes, make it an ideal candidate for developing structures with exceptional strength, conductivity and flexibility. By integrating carbon-based materials into existing technologies, Dr. Ajayan said, researchers can enhance performance and efficiency, leading to more sustainable solutions.

“There is an opportunity to build bottom up and create some fascinating architectures, which hopefully will keep the material science busy for quite a while,” he said.

Paying It Forward

Deepu Talla, PhD, ’98 MSEE first came to the United States to attend Villanova University, a life-changing experience that inspired him to establish a graduate fellowship to support future College of Engineering students. This past fall, Dr. Talla made a gift to the College to create the Dr. S. S. Rao Memorial Endowed Graduate Fellowship, which will fund the tuition and living expenses for graduate students in Electrical or Computer Engineering. The fellowship recognizes the former chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering, who helped Dr. Talla receive a full teaching and research assistantship, enabling him to focus on his studies and conduct his research.